Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 126358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 505(@250wpm)___ 421(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 505(@250wpm)___ 421(@300wpm)
I knew the dragons were impatient too, because I could feel it—the emotion rolled off them in waves. Dragon emotions are always so strong and there were so many of them, it was like standing in a high wind. I could almost hear them all saying, “Hurry, hurry, hurry! We want to fly—we want to be free!”
“So that’s why we had to…had to run here,” I remarked, still panting a little.
Ryse, who had been scanning the caves above, no doubt looking for his own dragon, looked down at me and frowned.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Oh, I was just wondering why we had to hurry up and get here but it’s because all the dragons are impatient to fly with their riders,” I said. “They just can’t wait to get into the air.”
He gave me a strange look but then he nodded.
“Well, yes—that’s true,” he admitted.
“I don’t understand though—can’t they fly on their own?” I asked.
Ryse shook his head.
“They can, but it’s not the same. When a rider and dragon are flying together, that’s the closest they can get to being one being. And it’s a special treat to get extra flying time in the middle of the day. Nobody wants to waste a minute of it.”
“I see.” I nodded and watched as four of the Browns and both of the Greens took off. This left room for a Crimson Bronze-wing and an Emerald Gold-wing to land. Both of them were huge—though the Gold-wing was the biggest by several lengths.
“Here comes M’alek,” Ryse said. “I don’t want you to be scared, Lysandra—he won’t hurt you.”
“Scared? Why would I be sca—” I began.
And then a shadow blotted out the sun.
Looking up, I saw the biggest dragon I’d ever seen descending from the caverns above to the Flight Terraces. His wings were so wide they cast a shadow over everyone below and his head was at least twice as big as I was tall—maybe twice as big as Ryse was tall.
He had the most beautiful coloring I’d ever seen—royal purple scales that flashed gold in the sun when he flexed his massive wings. A Midnight Gold-wing—the only one born in a century—the rarest breed of dragon there was.
I drew in a breath at his sheer size and beauty and let it out in a long sigh.
“Oh,” I breathed. “He’s magnificent.”
“Yes, he is.” There was pride on Ryse’s face as he watched his dragon descend and land lightly, despite his great weight, on the terrace closest to us.
The enormous dragon lowered his head to us as the Terrace Workers rushed to fit him with his saddle. He nosed at Ryse, making a low rumbling sound in his long throat that sounded almost like an enormous cat purring.
“Hey, boy…how are you?” The stern lines of Ryse’s face melted into a loving smile as he reached up to stroke the dragon’s massive muzzle. “Yes, I know,” he murmured, as though answering a remark the dragon had made. “We get to go riding twice today. I’m happy too.”
I could feel the love flowing between them—it was the purest emotion I’d ever felt and it almost made me cry. I understood a little more about the bond between a rider and his dragon now—this depth of emotion you couldn’t get from another person—only a dragon could give it to you.
It was a shame that my father and his dragon had always been in such a rage all the time. I wished I could have felt the love between them, as I was able to feel it flowing between Ryse and M’alex.
The huge dragon snorted, and his golden, dinner-plate-sized eyes rolled towards me. Clearly, it was a question. I could feel his curiosity nudging me like a questioning finger, wanting to know me.
“Oh, right.” Ryse nodded and turned to me. “You need to be introduced before you can ride on his back.” He turned back to his dragon. “M’alex, this is Auri—Auren Lysandra of the Great House Lysandra.”
I was surprised he knew my formal name—I hadn’t known that he knew my nickname or my full name either. (Or really, my brother’s full name.)
He turned to me and said,
“Auri, this is M’alek.”
“It’s very good to meet you,” I said, stepping forward. I looked up at Ryse. “Can I touch him?”
He gave me an amused look.
“Why don’t you ask him? He’ll let you know if he wants to be touched.”
I looked up at the enormous dragon. His head was twice as big as my body, but I felt no menace coming from him, only that same eager curiosity.
“Hello, M’alek,” I said, addressing him formally. “You’re absolutely beautiful. May I touch you?”
M’alek rumbled softly. Then he stretched his neck and laid his head all the way down on the stone terrace so that his enormous eye was directly level with my head. I got a feeling from him that was so strong it was almost like words—stronger than any feeling I’d ever gotten from any dragon.